No Heroes
by esotaria
Summary: These childheroes couldn't save her they'd be lucky to even save themselves.' Orihime runs into the Bound Yoshino while she's feeding. Written for the livejournal community Death and Strawberry's challenge: Heroes Can Save You.


_Thud!_ Yoshino landed hard on the ground, cradling her injured arm. It bled profusely where Friido had bitten her, but the Bound woman did not mind the blood or the pain. _I escaped_, she thought triumphantly as she took off her outer shirt, ripping it to bandage her wound. _That asshole Ryou tried to catch me, but I escaped._ In free air, even pain was sweet. And if that sweetness had a sour aftertaste...well, she would just avoid thinking about it. She finished tying the bandage with a firm tug and moved her arm a little to test its security. _Good. It's secure._ Now that she didn't have to worry about bleeding to death, she could set about feeding herself so she could truly heal. The street ouside of the alley she was in was crowded, much to her satisfaction. Finding prey would be easy. _Mistress_, Geitou rumbled inside of her. _Hush,_ she told her doll. _I'm getting food._ Opening her mouth, Yoshino began to sing her hunting song. The notes were designed to bring her the strongest soul that would nonetheless be unable to resist her call. It was not as efficient as Ryou or Jin's methods, but it was the best she could do.

A few minutes of song yielded her a victim – a lovely young woman, close to Yoshino's apparent age. Too close for her taste, but her bandage was leaking, so she could hardly afford to be picky. _Beggars can't be choosers,_ she thought, drawing the woman into her arms.

"STOP!" Startled, Yoshino dropped her prey, the sudden motion causing her arm to flare up with pain. Her prey, jolted out of her daze by the fall, cried out in fear and quickly fled. _Damn it!_ Yoshino cursed, and glared at the voice who had disturbed her meal.

A girl. A mere slip of a girl, with insanely large breasts and hair too red to be Japanese. She wore a determined expression, and had her hands on, of all things, her hairpins.

And her aura...it was the strangest Yoshino had ever tasted. Notably weaker than that shinigami boy's, but far more powerful than your average human's. If Yoshino could fear upon her, she _knew_ the girl would be delicious and filling, but the Bound's power was too weak to weave a new spell. _Damn it all._

"Bound-san?" When the prey was gone, the girl's expression abruptly changed.into one of concern. "Are you all right?"

"Che," Yoshino snorted, searching for ways to escape. If she went back, Ryou would find her. But she couldn't go forward – the girl stood in her way, and she didn't have the strength to fight. She could summon Geitou, but the doll was still recovering from the right with Ryou; she didn't wnat to risk worsening his injuries.

The girl took a step forward.

"Stay back!" Yoshino snapped, immediately putting up her arms into the position to summon. She bit back a cry of pain as her wound opened even more.

"You're hurt!" the girl protested, frowning but not moving. "I can help you."

_First she wants to fight me, now she wants to heal me,_ Yoshino thought with dark amusement. _What IS this girl?_

"You could help me," she said with a wicked smile, "but it would mean your life." _And your immortal soul._

"I have another way," the girl said, but Yoshino shook her head. "Did the Snake Man do that to you?" the girl asked, sensing that Yoshino would not let her come closer.

"Snake Man?" _Does she mean Ryou? But how?_ The girl nodded.

"Kurosaki-kun met you," she said, fidgeting. "He said you got kidnapped by a man with strange snake powers. He said he seemed very cruel."

"He is," Yoshino said without thinking. Her mind went back to the delighted, _hungry_ expression on Ryou's face as he cut her arm. _More than you know, little girl_.

"Are you scared of him?" The girl tried to step closer, but Yoshino backed away, holdinng her hands out threateningly. _Scared? More like **petrified!**_

"It's none of your business!" she snapped. 

"Sado-kun and I met him once," the girl said. "He felt evil." Yoshino trembled under the girl's sympathetic gaze, hatinng her more with ever shiver.

"Let us help you!" the girl blurted. "You don't seem like a bad person, and Snake Man-san is obviously hurting you. We can help you. Please." 

_Why?_ Yoshino wondered. _I'm everything these humans hate. Why would they want to help me?_

"No," Yoshino said firmly.

"But–"

"Don't be naive!" What was with this girl? "A shinigami is no match for me, and I'm not nearly as strong as Ryou. Your little Kurosaki friend doesn't stand a chance against him. So take my advice and stay as far away from him as you can, before you become his food."

"We can't do that," the girl said. "Not while he's hurting people."

Yoshino snorted.

"We all hurt people, little girl," she said. "All we can do is make sure other people don't hurt us." She took a deep breath, mustering her strength. She had stayed in one place too long; she had leave _now_ before Ryou tracked her down. Clutching her arm, Yoshino ran and leapt over the girl, using all of her power to leap onto a nearby building and flee. _Save me,_ she thought bitterly as she ran. _If only_. These child-heroes couldn't save her; they'd be lucky to even save themselves. They were no match for Ryou or Jin. Yoshino had used all her power against Ryou in their latest fight, and she had only escaped because he had let her. There was no salvation, and there was no escape. _If only..._ Yoshino shook her head. There were no heroes either.


End file.
